Julie Shapiro, Downtown Express’s main reporter, won an award for deadline writing from the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors for stories she wrote last summer.

While interning at The Monitor in McAllen, Texas, Shapiro covered the trial of an elected official who was accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl. Shapiro’s article about the surprising not-guilty verdict won first place in the deadline category for newspapers with circulation 30,000 to 125,000. It was picked up by papers all over Texas and by some around the country.

Shapiro was an intern at Downtown Express and The Villager prior to joining The Monitor.